Leafs’ roster-juggling lands Mark Giordano with rookie partner

The Toronto Maple Leafs are shaking things up a bit on the defensive end as they look to rebound from last night's 4-3 overtime loss to the lowly San Jose Sharks in the midst of their western road swing. 

Based on a report from beat writer Jonas Siegel, it will be defenseman Filip Kral making his National Hockey League debut tomorrow against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena, and he'll be coming in for Victor Mete. Per Siegel, he'll be skating with veteran defenseman Mark Giordano in his first game. 

The 23 year old Czech native was originally drafted 149th overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. And needless to say, he was excited to get the news. 

"Of course I was a little bit nervous, but I'm excited," he said. "I was waiting for a bit for this moment. I'm excited and I'm ready to go."

As far as his mindset is concerned, he's keeping it professional.

"Just play smart, be simple and play the team structure," he said.